Barbecue enthusiasts have the need to prepare barbecue using various modes (methods, manners, etc.) of cooking. For example, sometimes barbecuing with a charcoal based fuel (e.g., charcoal briquettes) is needed. Other times, barbecuing with a wood based fuel is needed (e.g., for a smoker process). Yet other times, barbecuing with a gas based fuel (e.g., propane) is needed. Furthermore, other types of fuel may be needed to satisfy the barbecuing objective.
Existing options typically consist of a barbecue grill that can only prepare barbecue in a single mode. For example, some options provide for charcoal grilling, others for wood or smoker grilling, and yet others for gas grilling. For the “multi-mode” barbecuer, these options require the use of more than one separate grill. A few options consist of a grill that can be converted between two modes, for example, charcoal and gas. However, these options are still limited in that they can only be operated in one mode at a time and typically require complicated reconfigurations to switch between cooking modes. Moreover, these existing options lack sufficient capability for controlling the various cooking modes in order to obtain performance that is even comparable to existing single mode grills.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a barbecue grill that is capable of cooking in multiple modes simultaneously while offering the control and performance capabilities for each mode that is at least comparable to a corresponding single mode grill.